I have an old Dell Latitude 400 notebook with an internal 56k telephone modem --the provider shows as Microsoft (Standard 56000 bps MOdem)-- driver date is 2001. The modem shows as "working ok" but when I try to connect to Bmts. I get modem failed.

I chased down a supplier in the U.S. and got a replacement daughter board for the modem but still am having trouble connecting.

After using the query the modem routine in the modem diagnostics, I get a message to verify that the interrupt for the port is set properly and in the log I see an error code 000003e3 that the modem did not respond.

Any ideas on how I can verify the port interrupt is set properly, the system has only com1 available and is running XP Pro.

That verify port and interrupt business isn't as applicable anymore... that was more for legacy modems. Modems are now PCI devices that use different interrupts and emulate serial devices. The modem driver would likely create a "COM port" for the modem when its correctly bound.

I will try your suggestions and see if that helps. This was an ebay purchase that is turning out to be a nightmare, the seller is supposed to be sending a replacement cd unit so until then I have difficulty doing much. Earlier this morning, I did create a broadband connection on the laptop and then connected my home system dsl cable to the laptop--it also has a network card--and that got me on the net but until I get the replacement cd, I can't load Norton so am leary about spending time connected.

I should have known to delete the original modem with device manager before I changed the daughter card, now I show in the hardware list under modems, a standard 56k modem showing the driver dated 2001 and under other devices, the pci modem with an error 28 no driver.

The laptop is to access my email from my campground in the summer with a dial up connection to bmts,as my high speed service allows me ten hours a month of dial up and I am trying to save coming home every morning just for email

Hopefully I am making some progress. I tried the driver downloads from Dell but they failed. I then rechecked the vendor that I got the daughter card from and found a second card available that shows mfg Conexant and Rd01 D480 which are the same numbers as the driver available at Dell downloads.

The second card is $13.97 as opposed to $33.02 for the one they sent me, I guess in my old age I am getting too trusting--I should have dug deeper before ordering.

I am going to try to return the original card and get the Conexant version and hopefully the Dell download will get this modem going. Both cards indicate Windows XP is supported.

The modem recommended by the vendor and which I ordered was the same number (OE828) as the one that came with the notebook.

Unfortunately I just found out through the Dell users forum that the card in the unit and the replacement I bought was for a Dell C640 not the C400.

Also in the forum, there are numerous reports on problems trying to install the OE828 into the C640.

My mistake for taking the suppliers word that he was shipping me the correct card instead of digging further before ordering.

I have been in touch with the supplier and advised that I wish to return the OE828 for a Y0231 which according to Dell was the original card in the C400 and for which there are downloads available on their support site.

In order to try to put this to bed once and for all, I even offered to forget about the price difference $33.02 vs $13.97 and just ship the correct card.

Hmm, I would have thought you could just go and get the modem driver for the C640 model, but if they say on the forum there are problems doing that and you don't really need a modem right away, it might be best to get the exact match.

They are listing the same two conexant drivers for the C640 model though. The D480 mini PCI modem and the Actiontec MDC modem (which is a different kind of card slot... you'd need to know if that's what you have)

My thinking was to take their offer of a free card which is supposed to be identical to the original supplied when the C400 was new--- according to Dell-- and try that first.

If I still have a problem, I will put the other card back in and try to download a driver that was suggested in the Dell forum that is supposed to work with the OE828.

I am beginning to believe that the card which was in the system when I received it may not have been faulty at all but rather the fact that a proper driver had not been installed was why I could not get to BMTS using dial up.

If none of this works, keep an eye out for the notebook floating down the Saugeen into Lake Huron!!

The positive out of all this is that I have been forced to get my brain back into gear although modems were never a strong suit for me.

I will let you know how I make out and once again I really do appreciate all of your help and suggestions.

Oh... That's the PCTel modem, not the conexant at all. (I just went and clicked on all the modem drivers to see the filenames)

I'm beginning to hate downloading drivers from Dell. Yesterday, I had to format a Dell Optiplex system and I put XP on there instead of the Windows 2000 he had on there (He had no disks, so I had him fork out for a copy of XP that I had previously bought for someone who might need it). XP didn't have drivers for much of anything on that system (including the onboard ethernet) so I went home to download drivers from Dell, thinking it would be easy. Well, they listed so many different components for his model that I had no clue what was in the machine, even armed with the "service tag" number. So I went back and installed a network card so I could connect to the Internet and used a PCI bus sniffer program to get a dump of all the hardware that was really in the machine, so I could download the correct drivers.